The Edgerton windmill, located on the northeast corner of the Edgerton City Park, is 40 years old this July.  The windmill was built by Willus Vander Woude and Rich Muyskens. The Edgerton City Council gave their permission to the Edgerton Chamber of Commerce to build the windmill as part of the bicentennial. The Edgerton Bicentennial Windmill Committee was chaired by the late Dan Schnyders, who served as the Edgerton Postmaster from 1965 to 1992.

The following story was run in the Edgerton Enterprise in July 1982. The windmill was dedicated at the Dutch Festival that year. 

Windmill dedication Tuesday

“From the very start we decided we wanted  to build a windmill. We set guidelines: We wanted to preserve the past; build something lasting; and have something for the present. To preserve our heritage, this would be the best thing we could do.”

After seven years of diligent searching for blueprints, raising funds and obtaining property, Bicentennial Windmill Committee Chairman Dan Schnyders is finally seeing the physical reward of those goals, and he is “tickled pink” to see it.

The Edgerton windmill is nearly completed. At the time of this writing (Friday, July 2), the only things to be finished on the mill were some reinforcing, attaching of the blades and the landscaping. The landscaping starts Tuesday, by a landscaping team from Pipestone.

“If the weather cooperates, we’ll have ‘er done, in time for the Dutch Festival, Dan said, although “it’s gonna be nip ‘n tuck, I’m sure.”

The windmill is the culmination of seven years work, a great deal of it done by Dan himself. The project started in 1975 as a bicentennial project of the Edgerton Chamber of Commerce. Rod Spronk was the chairman of the windmill committee then, but he resigned when he moved out to his farm west of town. Dan, who was on the committee, took over as chairman.

Funds for the project came from a grant from the State of Minnesota, and the committee held “some white elephant auctions…two, three, it could be six or seven of them we held, I don’t know anymore,” Dan laughed. A talent contest and the selling of bicentennial license plates also created income for the project.

The windmill money was all collected “without soliciting funds from the businesses of Edgerton. I think that’s rather remarkable,” Dan said. He felt that the town’s merchants were hit too frequently for contributions, and the committee wanted to avoid that.

In January of 1976, a series of windmill pictures Dan had gotten from The Netherlands were shown in the Enterprise. After the edition with the 4th and final picture came out, people were asked to send in the picture of their favorite windmill. The “Gronigen” style mill was chosen by the public, and it is “very similar to the one we built,” Dan said.

The search for blueprints for the windmill was the most difficult task for the committee. “We had three different persons – myself, Bob De Boer, and Howard Snyder go out to Solvang, Calif. where they have a Danish windmill.” Each one of them requested blueprints, and talked to locals about their landmark and “the people there were real friendly,” but they did not send the blueprints.

Finally, after much correspondence, the California village responded to the Edgertonites request.

Dan took them to the carpenters, and after studying the prints, they had discouraging news – the windmill modeled on that particular plan would have cost $100,000 to build.

“I was disheartened,” Dan said, but the committee did not give up.

They made a trip to Willmar to try to buy a mill that had actually been operating there in the past, but the owner would not sell the windmill unless they would buy his greenhouse along with it.

Bob De Boer, Fred Vander Kolk, and Dan measured the Willmar mill and the measurements were given to Country Lumber; blueprints were drawn up. These, along with some blueprints of a mill in Pella, Iowa, were handed over to Willus Vander Woude of Woodman Designs. Dan also gave Willy a book full of windmill pictures he had obtained from the Netherlands; “Willy’s so versatile with things like that. He got a lot of ideas,” said Dan.

After the blueprints were obtained this spring, the project began to fly.

During the past seven years, there has been debate as to where the windmill should be located.

Originally, the plan was to build it in the lot where the old Fabric Shop and Thrift Store building stands. But the property was not considered large enough for a mill, and also, with all of the delays, inflation was eating at the committee’s budget. So they decided to sell the lot to the Edgerton bank, which “gave us enough money to build it, and build it RIGHT,” Dan added.

The empty lot on Main Street south of Mrs. Alyda De Boer was considered, but zoning laws would have had to been battled. Edgebrook Rest Center offered to donate land for the site, but as Dan explained, “Public money cannot be used on private property.”

Finally the committee and the city got together and land in the public park was agreed upon – that is where the windmill stands today.

Dan has had to take constant ribbing from some unsupportive Edgertonites: “Without the constant support from people like Jake Kooiman, we would’ve been discouraged long ago,” Dan smirked.

“I think there may have been some opposition originally, because of the cost. But had not this money come to Edgerton, it would’ve gone somewhere else. That’s the way I see it,” he said.

“We get more and more favorable comments as it nears completion,” Dan said. It seems the very presence of the mill has caused some critics to change their opinion. “In fact, we’ve been getting a great deal of good comments.”

Dan feels the project will be a “substantial landmark” for future generations. He said that the mill is easily visible from two of the four main entrances into town, and when the blades are put on, it could be visible from perhaps all entrances.

On the first night of the Dutch Festival, July 13, a dedication will be held at the windmill site. “We’re gonna cut a ribbon,” Dan said. The ceremony will immediately follow the parade. “We’re gonna hand the key over to the city,” he added. “And our job will be completed.”

After seven years of work, Dan – and the committee – can proudly say that they never gave up.